wasanut

[wasanut]

Love and Loss: Preface

This is a bit of destiny fanfiction that I'm working on. However, most of it is pretty far removed from the actual story of destiny. It takes place within the world and has minor interaction with established characters, but that's about it. _______________________________________________________________________ (Copy and pasted from my own Reddit post.) So a Long while back, a friend and I developed a concept for a pair of exotic hand cannons meant to be dual wielded. Love and Loss. (Each would have a five round mag and sport the Eyasluna archetype. Love would heal a small amount of health on a successful hit, although it would not start health regen. Loss would add a very minor damage stack on successive hits. (up to 5) The full stack would be lost on a miss. You are incapable of looking down sights due to the left trigger being used for a second gun. The reload and exotic perks are independent of each other.) I really loved the idea of these guns, so I started to write down something of a story to serve as the lore cards. And thus I began my descent into the rabbit hole. So the story I will be telling revolves around three guardians: Onyx: An Exo Hunter that is so good at killing things out of nowhere, that the Fallen basically treat him like a mythological nightmare come to haunt them. He uses his light exclusively to enhance his ability to use the weapons at his disposal, and his natural agility. (His friends think he is a gunslinger, but they can't know for sure as they haven't ever seen him use a golden gun.) Still alive and yet to be rebooted when granted the travelers blessing, He has yet to actually die. This is quite fortunate since an old injury rendered Onyx's ghost "Spark" incapable of resurrection.As a gunsmith, he was the creator of Pearl and Jaden's primary weapons, the hand cannons that would later be known as Love and Loss. (Yes. he's quite the romantic) Pearl: An Awoken warlock Who invented the Void/Ark subclass of Matter Weaver. Basically what I mean by that is she was smart enough to figure out how to use Void and Arc light to brute force transmat things into, and out of, existence. Pearl thinks herself a healer and she uses her abilities to do things like materialize a brand-new leg out of nowhere directly onto a patient. Thankfully, her terrifying intellect Is sharply contrasted by her gentle nature, exemplified by the fact that she prefers to avoid direct combat and simply heal her comrades. (Just don't piss her off. She is entirely capable of dematerializing you out of spite.) Jaden: A Human Titan who is basically just a walking natural disaster. He once brought down a Fallen Ketch simply by throwing himself at/through its engines. It seems as though he was a soldier before he was a guardian as a lot of that mindset appears to have carried over. He is a natural tactician and understands logistics and intricacies of war more than most guardians. He Can't decide between using the Arc abilities of Striker, or the Void abilities of the sentinel, and he often switches between them the mid-battle. Frankly, he doesn't care, as long as It gets in within arm's reach of the enemy. _______________________________________________________________________ Copy and pasted from my text editor. Authors note

This story was developed in a pre D2 context. At the time, many things were still up in the air as to the nature of many in-universe mechanics. So as such, I made the following assumptions for the sake of telling this story.

Chanel ambient light from the traveler as well as it’s own to it’s guardian

Resurrect it’s guardian when necessary.

Note: A ghost can only resurrect its own guardian, although it can receive assistance.

Manage guardian inventory and transmat.

Note: Similar functionality is easily possible without a ghost.

Wielding the light without a ghost Is theoretically possible under the right circumstances.  

Resurrection is possible without a ghost, but not without light. (E.G. Sunsinger)

Light does not dissipate quickly, and can have lasting effects on its surroundings.

Guardians can use the light without a ghost, even if only to a limited capacity. However, the loss of direct light from the ghost can temporarily debilitate a guardian.

That being said, each of the MCs set unique precedents, and that’s kinda the point. They are all supposed to be exceptional. “Well if they are all so amazing, why haven’t I heard of them?” Well, that’s exactly what this story is about. (Also, guardians are all undead demigod space wizards with protagonist powers. Everyone is special. That, and our mute Guardian doesn’t exactly ask a lot of questions.) Preface: Scars that don’t Fade

“He is known to the Fallen as the Old One. “Guardians, they fight, they die, they fight again, as they have for generations. The Fallen may fear death at their hand, but only in the same way that one might fear death in the face of an oncoming storm. In fact, some find solace in besting one of the curse’ed light bearers once or twice before their inevitable defeat. “But the Old One… he does not fight. He does not die. He kills. Many of the Fallen’s most skilled hunters, warriors who survived battle after battle with you guardians, have been judged and been found wanting, without ever seeing the crimson glow of his cold eyes.”

- Verriks

“The Vanguard has heard a few passing references to what seems to be a Fallen boogeyman in their radio chatter. not like Taniks, whose stories are told to scare fallen children, but a living reaper whispered in hushed tones when dregs think their captains can’t hear. Of course, as this mysterious entity was only killing our enemies, Zavala saw no reason to devote precious resources to perusing the matter. (No matter how curious Cayde got.) “it’s killing Fallen. Let it kill Fallen. We have more pressing concerns” Zavala would say. all they knew is that whispers of the “Old one” had been circulating since the Fallen first entered the system. “but not one to ignore a potential threat, or neglect a potential ally, I tasked my hidden with determining the nature of the Fallen’s apparition. As it turned out, the “Old one” was a guardian, and had been a consistent thorn in the side of all of our enemies. The main reason the fallen in particular made mention of him was simply due to the fact that our other adversaries are unlikely to notice a difference from one guardian to the next. The news I received next was particularly pleasant, because when I inquired as to the identity of this Guardian, I was struck with an unexpected pang of familiarity.

“most simply believe him to be a myth. Those that know the reality of his existence fear him. But those of us who call him a friend simply leave him in peace. In truth, he is much less mysterious than many would have you believe. Just an old Exo hermit who happens to be one of the travelers chosen. He fights against the darkness just like anyone else, he just does so on his own terms.

“After losing his fire-team in an unfortunate battle many years ago, my friend, a reclusive Exo hunter named Onyx, begin throwing himself into his work. There is a certain satisfaction that comes from exercising ones mastery over their chosen craft. But while once his imposing skill set was paired beautifully with that of his companions, he was now stripped of anything else that gave his life meaning. All that was left was the the lonely assassin, honing himself and his abilities, becoming increasingly more deadly, as there was nothing else left for him to become. Time now stretched out before him endlessly, empty of purpose, but at least he had an equally endless supply of targets to take it out on.

“As a gunsmith, Onyx always had a knack for designing weapons that matched any desired combat style perfectly. When it came time for his dear friends Jaden and Pearl to get married, that old softy designed matching hand cannons specifically for each them. Each one tailored in a way that reflected what they meant to each other. Additionally, as conduits of light, these weapons became increasingly effective as they used them. Their signature abilities eventually became ingrained in the functionality of the weapons themselves. Understandably, Onyx became proud of the weapons he had created for his friends. Each passing battle serving as a testament to their ability to keep his friends safe.

“But now he patrols the system solo, his only company being the shadow of severed bonds and the weapons he crafted to keep them. Each weapon echoing with the power of the ones he once called Family. He spends his days alone, wielding the memories of a time when he wasn’t. “To make matters worse, I must live with a truth that, for his sake, he must never know. If only to save the poor man's spirit from potentially being broken beyond repair.” - Ikora Rey